I Loved Her First
by WishIHadATimeTurner
Summary: :AUVerse, oc x Morgan C, see notes within: Amanda Thatcher's a 20 year old mother to a 2 year old named Cloe. She's also the daughter of Dr. Silas Clay, whom she hasn't seen since she was 2 herself. When the death of her mother leaves her with more questions than answers, she comes to Port Charles to find out what's a lie and what's real. But will she find a lot more than she inten
1. disclaimers and summary

Disclaimers & Such

I do not own General Hospital. If I did own General Hospital, do we really think JaSam would be over now? Or Lucky / Liz? Nope, not a chance. I'm not doing this to better my writing, or to make a profit. I'm doing this because Morgan's current plottage really, really pisses me off.

And I hated how they took Dr. Clay's chance to actually be a father, to his own damn kid.

Anyway, as usual, reviews are loved. No flames and corrections, please? As I said before, just doing this to exorcise plot bunnies out of my pretty little head, nothing more than that. If this gets good feedback, I'll continue it. All I have so far is the current chapter which will be up in a few hours, tops.

**WARNING**

**- oocness is a possibility in some cases. Sorry.**

**- OOC MORGAN.. I REPEAT GOOD GUY OOC MORGAN.**

**-auverse**

**-daughter fic**

**-dirty humor and swearing, eventual sex and fluffiness.**

**- other bullshit to come later**

**_Setting_**

**current yet AU Port Charles.**

**Pairing**

**Morgan Corinthos x OC**

**others to be mentioned very very briefly throughout.**

**CHANGES MADE:**

This follows my other GH story, it's just sort of more Morgan centric, and it introduces a new original character, who happens to be the daughter of Dr. Silas Clay..

Yes, this is weird, I know, but seeing how upset that Kiki's not being his kid made him.. I had to do something. Besides, I happen to like Dr. Clay on the show, and I think it could be interesting to see him as a father.

As stated before, this follows my other GH story, so those characters may be in here at times.. Also, it will sort of loosely follow Morgan's own personal storyline since he came back, with me changing a lot about it.

I HATED what the writers did with my boo boo Morgan. I utterly loathed that shit. I mean I've always loved his character, the guy had sooooo much potential to grow and change, evolve into something. But they're pissing it all right down a drain and I'm so not cool with that.

Plus, nu Morgan's just.. le hawt.

**FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS , UNEXPECTED LOVERS**

My names's Amanda Thatcher. I only came to Port Charles to do one thing, and that's find and confront my father for cutting out on my mother when I was 2. I don't remember much about my dad, nor do I remember much about why he and my mom basically fell apart. But when I came to town, I wasn't expecting to find my father, nor was I expecting to remember just **why** I missed him, and how much I actually did need him in my life, in the life of my own little girl Cloe.

It turns out I was wrong about the guy on so many levels.. Can we patch our relationship up?

And what'll happen when I meet Morgan Corinthos, who I'm attracted to/ wary of from the start.. What will happen when all my attempts to shove Morgan out of my life only wind up further drawing him in? Is HE what my own little girl needs? Is he what I need and want, what I've been missing in my life?

Everybody's got their own 'great love story', this is just mine, complete with bumps, twists and awkward tensions.

I'm a 20 year old single mother who's spent her entire life basing her own choices around the worst pain she's ever felt.. But can that all be healed before it's too late?

You think you know me, but you really have no idea.


	2. arrival in port charles

**"****Okay, let's get you out of this wind, Cloe." Amanda muttered softly to the bundle of pink in her arms as she speed walked through the lobby of the Metro Court Hotel, towards the check in counter. She'd gotten about halfway there when she collided with a tall male who steadied her and looked at her a moment.**

**"****I'm fine, really. I'm sorry, I should have been watching where I was going, huh?" she muttered as Morgan muttered quietly, "It's fine.. I.. I was the one who was distracted. Sorry." as he looked at her, his eyes sort of getting caught up in the almost seafoam green of her eyes.**

**A little giggle filled the air and Amanda bit her lower lip as the little girl in her arms, beneath the bundles peeked up at her and muttered "Sleepy." while yawning. Morgan smiled and said "She's cute."**

**"****She's 2. She's going through the terrible twos in spades.." Amanda admitted as Morgan nodded and then said "I should go. Welcome to Port Charles though. I'm Morgan, by the way.. What are your names?"**

**Amanda bit her lower lip and said quietly, "I'm Amanda and this is Cloe. We're sort of in town to find my dad."**

**Morgan nodded and made a silent wish that for once, they were NOT here to find his own father, Sonny. Something about the girl.. If he weren't about to get married to the girl of his dreams, or so he thought at least, Kiki Jerome.. He'd definitely want to get to know her much better. "Hope that works out for you." he said as Amanda nodded and said quietly, "Me too." before making a hasty retreat in the opposite direction, getting into line at the check in desk.**

**She couldn't help but turn and watch him walk out of the double doors at the end of the lobby, her free hand in her hair. A sigh escaped her lips. She'd seen his picture in the newspaper when she'd stopped in the diner to eat breakfast. **

**"****He's not on the market, Mandy.. And even if he were.. You're damaged goods." she reminded herself mentally as she turned to face the front of the line again, she bit her lower lip and then waited patiently on her turn to check into the hotel.**

**Her turn came and the woman behind the desk slid her her room key, then said with a smile, "Enjoy your stay. If you need anything while you're here, call the front desk."**

**She gave a nod and walked to the elevator, getting on it. Once the solid metal doors slid shut, she took a few deep and calming breaths before looking at the letters in her hands. She'd only come here to get a few things straightened out about her own childhood, by the one person left in the world who could straighten them out.**

**Her father could tell her the truth. Right now, she needed her father more than anything. She'd never felt this confused in her entire life, child or adult. Cloe giggled in her arms and asked, "We see him?"**

**"****Yeah Cloe.. We're finally gonna get to see your grandpa. Just hoping to hell this goes over well." Amanda muttered as she sent up a few silent prayers to anyone who might be listening. She'd debated on doing this for months after her mother's sudden death related to a mental illness the woman struggled with almost her whole life that few people knew she even had..**

**In the end, she'd decided that she just had to know.. Had her father been driven away by her mother like the letters in her hands claimed, had they been kept apart, or had he simply just given up and walked away, just like her mother said.**

**Given what little she did actually remember about her father, she had this feeling that what she was about to uncover was about to completely change her life as it stood currently. But she wasn't thinking about that currently.**

**She was doing this for Cloe. She wanted her daughter to have some semblance of a traditional and happy family. And to even think about dealing with her own issues so she could form a happy and healthy relationship with someone else, she had to go directly to the source.**

**Her own father, Dr. Silas Clay.**

**The man who held all the answers to all her questions.**


	3. confrontations

He happened to see her that afternoon, in the park. For a split second, Silas stopped and stared. Then he sighed quietly, remembered that thanks to his daughter's mother, he wasn't allowed around her. She'd probably poisoned her mind against him either way, Elena had a way of being convincing when she wanted.

But seeing the 20 year old girl in the park, pushing a two year old on the swings was enough to make him stop and wonder what his own daughter was doing right now, if she ever thought about him at all.

He thought about her often, sadly, but he knew that when Elena took her and ran, she'd gone so far away that any hope he might have of finding Mandy one day was gone. And besides that, what if he did find Mandy? How would he explain everything that happened when her mother suffered a complete break mentally and took her, ran from him.

Lingering a little bit, he was struck by the surprising urge to walk over and talk to the girl, but he shrugged it off and looked at the silver Rolex on his left wrist then muttered, "Time to go and do the only thing I'm actually good at." before turning on his heels, walking back towards his car.

As he turned a corner, he collided with Morgan, Morgan was apparently watching the girl he'd just seen in the park, a strange expression on the young male's face. For some reason, this surge of protective paternal instincts surfaced and he said calmly, "Not your type, Corinthos." before walking away, getting into his car.

Morgan was stunned out of his thoughts by Dr. Clay speaking to him and then when he looked back at the park, Amanda, the girl he'd met in the lobby of his mother's hotel earlier with her daughter, was gone.

He raked his hand through his hair, turned and walked into Kelly's, flopping into a back booth, reading yet not reading a menu while he thought about what he'd just walked in on, what he'd heard his so called fiancee telling his older brother.

_'I do care about Morgan.. But I love you, Michael.'_

The words kept echoing in his mind, over and over. He should have confronted them both right then and there, but for some reason he didn't. Instead, he'd turned and ran back down the hallway of the ELQ offices, then out onto the sidewalk where he'd happened to look across at the park and spotted Amanda, playing with her daughter Cloe.

A throat clearing had him looking up, there stood Michael and Kiki, waiting to sit down, pretending as if nothing were going on with the two of them. He felt sickened by it. And before he realized what he was doing, what he was feeling slipped out without stopping.

"So.. You care about me.. But you love him.. Why waste time marrying me, Kiki? I mean you said it yourself. You're only marrying me because I need you right now. Guess what? I actually don't. You're free."

They gaped at him, shocked and immediately his older brother tried to play things off, say that he hadn't heard them right. Angrily, Morgan stood and said in a deadly calm voice, "Oh.. I heard you. I heard both of you." as he shoved past them and out the door of the diner. He jogged for a while with no clear cut destination in mind.

He'd just turned another corner when he again collided with Amanda. "Shit.. Sorry, I'm.. I just.." he stammered a moment as she looked at him and asked in slight wary concern, "Are you alright?"

"I'm good. Just got some things straightened out." Morgan said as he called forth the best convincing smile he could muster in the circumstances.

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked as she shifted her daughter from one hip to the other, adjusted the diaper bag she carried so it sat on her shoulder again. The little girl reached out for him and she looked up at him, giggled and made a cooing noise.

"Mind if I hold her?" Morgan found himself asking as Amanda studied him a moment as if she were sizing him up, trying to see if he were trustworthy enough.

"I'm not gonna take her and run." Morgan said calmly as he took the little girl. "You're a little cutie. But your mommy's kinda pretty too." he muttered the last half of the sentence under his breath, unaware he'd spoken it aloud.

"I'm not, but thanks." Amanda said casually as she watched the stranger with her daughter. "Do you have a baby sister or something? You act like you've held a baby before." she remarked as she coughed and muttered nervously, "Sorry.."

"Actually, yeah. She's probably six, her name's Josslyn." Morgan said as he smiled and held the 2 year old out to her mother. Amanda took her daughter from Morgan and then asked, "Actually, I'm sort of looking for the hospital?"

"I can drive you there if you want me to. My car's parked near here. I'll go get it and come back." Morgan said as Amanda thought over the offer then shook her head as she said quietly, "Nah.. I mean thanks.. I'm just.. I'm wary of strangers."

"But I told you my name earlier." Morgan said as he managed a smile.

"But I also barely know you, and I'm new here." Amanda insisted as she felt herself tempted to cave in. She thought better of it though, reminded herself that he was soon going to be a married man, and beyond that, he was probably one of the most dangerous 'friends' to have in this town, considering his father was known mobster Sonny Corinthos. People died when they knew that man, it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

She had a daughter to think of, not just herself and her damn long ignored horomones. She coughed and clearing her mind said "I'll.. I'll umm see you around or something, yeah?"

"That you will." Morgan remarked as he watched her walking away, only looking away when he heard someone behind him. Turning he found Molly and her boyfriend Rafe standing there, Molly with her hand on her hip and a concerned look on her face.

"I heard the whole thing. I thought you might need a friend. And hot chocolate." Molly said as she held out a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Morgan hugged her and said quietly, "It just hurts. I didn't think anything could hurt this much, Molly."

She hugged her cousin back and then asked in curiousity, "So.. Who was the girl?"

"What girl?" Morgan asked, trying to play things off. He really hadn't meant to be seen talking to her, not while so few knew about his breaking things off with Kiki just now, but he didn't really care who did, either.

He worried for her sake.. Because he knew how his father's enemies were, and he didn't want one of them thinking they could use him or a girl he barely knew and her daughter, to get to Sonny.

"The girl with the little girl. The pretty one?" Molly asked, slightly amused at her cousin's current state of incoherency. She'd been questioning her own belief in love at first sight, but the way Morgan was acting right now only made her ask herself why she was questioning it.

If there were a clearer case, she'd like to see it.

Rafe nudged her and gave her a slight grin and she returned the grin as she said "Nevermind, Morgan.. So.. Do you wanna walk around and talk about what just happened?"

Morgan shook his head, said quietly, "Nope.. Going to go pack my things. I'm moving in with Dad. I'm not staying with Kiki another second. I can't believe I was about to do something that stupid to try and keep her. Should have known.. I'll never be good enough. Michael wins again."

"Hey.. You're a good person, Morgan. She's just a stupid bitch." Molly said as Morgan looked at her a moment watched her shrugging off the look he gave her as she said "Well? She is."

"You're probably right, Molly." Morgan said as they set off for his car. All he really wanted to do right now was walk things off, clear his head. He was falling apart inside, and if he were a 'weaker' guy, he'd be somewhere curled into the fetal position right now, crying his eyes out.

But that'd get him nowhere. As usual, big brother got everything he wanted.

Across town, Amanda looked up at the skyscraper then down at her little girl. "Let's do this, huh?"

Cloe nodded her head and giggling said "We see grampy."

"Yes, baby angel. We see grampy." Amanda said quietly as she pushed open the doors to the hospital's main floor lobby and walked towards the receptionist's desk. A few moments later, she found herself standing in the brightly decorated pediatrics ward, her hand on the doorknob of the office that belonged to her father.

Her knees were weak and she couldn't breathe. If she turned back now, she'd have done this all for nothing. If she turned back now, she'd keep repeating the cycle that her mother's lies and illness, her issues started long ago.

"Go in." Cloe urged her mother as Amanda steeled her nerves and was about to knock on the door. From behind them, a very familiar voice said in a slightly dull and shocked tone, "Amanda?"

"Dad?" Amanda asked as she turned around, came face to face with her father. Silas looked at her, then at the 2 year old in her arms and asked, "Does your mother know you're here?"

"There's really not much she can do about it now, Daddy.. She.. She died a few months ago.. I've been trying to find you.."

He unlocked his office door, stepping aside, letting the two of them in before shutting it firmly behind him. Once the door was shut, he pulled out a chair and said quietly, "I've pictured this. So many different times in my mind."

"What?" Amanda asked, a little shocked at how things went just now, by the rush of emotions she'd felt just now, seeing her father again after all this time.

"This.. Me finding you, telling you the truth somehow. Your mom, she.."

"I know, dad.. She took me and ran." Amanda said quietly as she added, "Mom was really, really sick. She didn't know it.. I mean her doctors found all these letters you wrote her, begging her to bring me back at least, or something.. They gave them to me.. Is it true, dad?"

Silas nodded and then said "The little girl.. Is she yours?" as he looked at Amanda in concern and slight disbelief. She was 20, if that.. And she was a mother? He sighed and sat down, looking at her.

"Mhmm.." Amanda said quietly as she held out Cloe, let her father take her and hold her. Silas took his granddaughter and then looked at Amanda and asked, "The guy.."

"Is gone.. Doesn't even know about her, Dad.. I'd really rather not discuss it here, with her awake." Amanda said quietly. Silas felt his stomach churn, he knew what might have happened to his daughter.

And he found himself angry that thanks to her mother, he hadn't been there to protect Amanda from that.

"Dad.. It's fine.. I got through it." Amanda said quietly as she studied her father in concern. He looked as if he were working himself into the earliest grave he could possibly face. Hugging him, she asked quietly, "Are you okay, daddy?"

"Better now, kiddo." Silas said as he hugged her back and then asked, "How long are you two in town?"

"Actually, sir, I'm considering a move here." Amanda admitted as Silas nodded and said "Good.. You two can stay with me until you find a place. I want you to stay with me until you find a place, actually.. Your cousin Rafe's living with me too."

Amanda nodded and smiled. The hardest part was out of the way.. Now she just had to start building a life here and rebonding with her father.


	4. if it were love i would know pt I

Amanda had been living in Port Charles with her father for about 3 weeks now and in those 3 weeks, she'd sort of settled into life. She went to class in the morning, she was trying to finish getting her cosmetology license, so she could work in this new spa and salon that'd opened in the Metro Court's business space, and in the afternoon, she worked at Kelly's Diner.

It only left precious little time for her to spend with her daughter and her father, but she was making ends meet, trying to find herself and her 2 year old a place to rent, an apartment or something.

She'd also managed to run into Morgan Corinthos on several different occasions lately, since his wedding was apparently called off, and his supposed fiancee was now with his older brother.

And Amanda just couldn't figure the guy out.

They seemed to butt heads more than anything for the most part, and when they weren't, she was pretty damn sure he was trying to flirt with her or at the very least get to know her better than he already did. For the most part, she was avoiding the advances and she was wary around him, like most men, at best.

She just didn't trust at least 90 percent of the male species given what she'd been through when she had let her guard down and let a guy get close to her. And right now, she just couldn't afford to have a relationship with anyone, really, because she had so little time for it.

Lately, this older guy named Diego had also been approaching her. And he just didn't give her a good vibe at all. She generally tried her best to disappear when he came in the diner, like she was right now, standing in the alley behind it, peering into the dining area from her carefully chosen vantage point just out of his sight.

She took a few deep breaths and said "It's just because he's a mobster's son too. He's actually not a bad guy. Neither is Morgan." she said in the same breath to herself, scowling when she again thought about the guy who'd been haunting her mind as of late.

"Somehow, I get the feeling of the two of them, Morgan is the lesser of the two evils. I'd rather butt heads with him than run into Diego, really." she muttered as she stamped out her cigarette, her head snapping up when TJ poked his head out and said "We had a mishap.. Can you cover Molly for a minute?"

"What happened?"

"Some idiot bumped into her, spilled her tray, she's got hot soup on herself, she's gonna change. Rafe's bringing her clothes now. She's got 2 tables waiting." TJ said as Amanda sighed and smoothed her hands down the front of her apron, shoved her lighter and pack of cigarettes back into her pocket, making her way inside the diner again.

And naturally, much to her bad luck, she had Diego's table as one of the tables Molly would have been waiting on had she not gotten hot soup spilled on herself. "Damn it." she muttered to herself as Diego looked up, about to start his order, his face instead getting a slight grin as he said casually, "We gotta stop meeting like this." while he gazed at her intently.

"We really do." Amanda said calmly as she wrote down his order, walked away quickly. She was almost to the counter when Morgan stopped her and then asked in a whisper, "Does that guy bother you?"

"No more than most other ones do. I can handle it."

"Looked like he had you scared out there. I mean I can say something to him if you want me to." Morgan said as he looked at her in concern.

She was doing it again, the thing of course where she edged as far away from him as she possibly could, looking at him with a raised brow as if she just weren't sure why he kept bothering her. He was beginning to think that she didn't like him, not even in a conventional guy friend kind of way. He had no idea why, because he'd pretty much turned his back on his family and his father's whole mob ties and everything he'd grown up with after the whole fiasco with his wedding a few weeks before.

He was staying with Dante right now, going to classes at PCU, like her, and he was working part time at Johnny's nightclub, helping him keep the books. He also assisted Julian Jerome with his newspaper, on Jax's behalf, since Jax still owned at least 90 percent of the company, and he lived in Italy with Brenda now.. Not that he wanted to work with Julian, but the job was a good paying one, and he needed money to get his own place. And Jax had been more of a father to him than Sonny ever dreamt of being, so he wanted to make sure Jax wasn't getting screwed over by Julian, who struck Morgan as almost as crooked and vindictive as Sonny could be at times, when he had to be.

Plus it sort of gave him a hidden way to keep track of his former fiancee, make sure their being over was worth it. It was to him, but the whole thing still very much hurt like hell, which is why his 'feelings', confusing as they were, for Amanda had completely and totally managed to blindside him.

It also gave him a way to keep his biological father safe, even though he tried to have as little to do with him as possible these days.

It still hurt how Sonny had stood up and told Michael and Kiki everything Morgan begged him not to.

So it really wasn't his still being in love with Kiki that was a problem, or why he was in pain, it was the pain caused by the actions of his own family that'd done all this damage to him emotionally. And it took a lot to get over.

"I can handle it." Amanda said calmly as she looked up at Morgan again, Morgan seemed to be off in another world at the moment. He blinked and then said "I still don't like it, I mean Diego's never been all there, if you ask me."

"And? I'm not anything to you, Morgan. You don't have to handle it, I can do that on my own." Amanda grumbled as Morgan nodded, muttered something she couldn't hear, making her grumble even more. He had that habit, and it drove her nuts. She wished she could hear what he was saying when he mumbled to himself, because she was curious.

And she was going to stick to that. It was only curiousity, nothing more. She was not interested in Morgan. She couldn't be. She had a daughter to think of, not to mention rebonding with her father, and all the other things she had on her plate lately.

He nodded and muttered quietly, "I'm gonna go before I piss you off again or we wind up arguing or something." before turning to walk away, mentally kicking himself as he grumbled, "I need to leave her alone. I just can't for some reason."

He happened to catch up to Diego outside and tapped him on the shoulder as he leaned in and whispered "If I were you, Alcazar.. I'd leave Amanda Clay the fuck alone. Are we clear, or do I need to show you what'll happen if you do anything that gets her hurt?"

Diego looked at him and burst into laughter then said calmly, "If anyone's gonna get her hurt, Corinthos, that'd be you. I sold my father's shit, remember? I'm completely outta the life. Really, if you wanna be honest with yourself.. It's not the danger I could supposedly put her in, is it.. You're just maybe a little jealous?"

"I'm not jealous. And we both know you're not outta the business.. At least that's not what Julian's buddy Carlos keeps saying. And if she gets hurt because you keep going after her, man.."

"You're not gonna do a damn thing, Corinthos. Go back to your sandbox and play cops and robbers with your idiot brother Michael. What I do is none of your business. You don't see me threatening you when you try and fail, might I add, at trying to hit on her, do ya?"

"No, but you're only after one thing."

"And you're not? Can we say rebound?" Diego mused as Morgan growled, slammed him at the wall and grumbled, "Just fucking leave her alone or I swear to God you won't like what happens. You freak her out when you come on strong like that."

"Likewise, Morgan." Diego said dismissively as Morgan stormed off, angry. He hadn't meant to make that big a scene, but he knew that Diego was up to something, it was big and it was dangerous, and it potentially involved the Jerome crime family.

And if Amanda got hurt because of it, he'd probably completely lose it. But he'd die before he admitted that to anyone.


	5. if it were love i would know pt II

The town looked beautiful covered in snow, decked out in Christmas lights and decorations. Especially the town square, where apparently, some of the teenagers and a few adults were taking advantage of a frozen over pond, it'd been turned into a makeshift ice rink for the holidays.

Maybe that's why Amanda and Cloe found themselves sitting there, watching the others on the ice. "Wanna skate." Cloe insisted as Amanda shook her head and laughed a little, said with a soft smile, "You're too small, baby." with her father piping in, "Not if you take her out there, hold her. I did that for you."

"You did." Amanda smiled as she studied the crowd on the ice intently then said "Maybe when some of the teenagers get off the ice, I mean there are some real daredevils out there, Dad." as Silas nodded in agreement, nudging Rafe when he spotted Molly, Rafe's girlfriend, giving Morgan a slight scowl when he realized Morgan was tagging along apparently.

He noticed Amanda went out of her own way to avoid looking at the guy. That was good, in his opinion. Latest word around had the kid mixing with the Jerome family, Silas would've been the first to tell the kid that the Jerome family was nothing but trouble, and probably the biggest pains in his own ass he'd personally had the misfortune of meeting.

Then there was his father, Sonny, of course. Silas wasn't entirely fond of the guy either. Sonny Corinthos was danger, plain and simple. Anyone involved with him or his businesses, his family, hell, were all in danger at some point or another.

Morgan looked at Molly and then muttered quietly, "Ha. Good one, Molly. I should probably go.. Between the way she's trying her best to flee for the nearest exit, and the glare her dad's giving me, doesn't really look like I'm actually wanted around here."

"But you are.. She's just.. She's skittish. She's like this around all guys, Morgan.. Except when she looks at you, it's different. Look, don't argue with me, okay, just give this a chance.. For me? I'm sick of seeing you mope." Molly begged as she looked up at her cousin, eyes wide, bouncing around.

He managed a smile and said "Fine. But she probably hates me. And it's only been a few weeks since the thing with Kiki and Michael.. I'm still hurting about it all. Just don't go planning a wedding or something, because I've told you and Dante and Lulu and my mom I'm pretty much done with the whole love thing. I'd rather focus on classes and work right now."

"And you're going to become the youngest workaholic I know." Molly muttered dryly as she and Morgan edged closer to where Silas and Amanda sat with Cloe who was looking around, eying the makeshift skate rink intently.

Rafe smiled, walking over and grabbing Molly's hand, leading her to the ice. Stopping by Morgan for a second, he said quietly, "You didn't hear me say it, Morgan.. But I kinda think Mandy likes you. Or you really frustrate her."

"I think it's more the second option than anything. But I'm trying. I'm also still trying to get over the whole thing with Kiki and Michael, guys. I know Molly's worried, but I just need time." Morgan said as Rafe nodded and said quietly, "Either way.. You got my support when and if you do anything about what you told me and Molly the other day. Just do something, because Diego's actually starting to charm her lately."

"Seriously.. That jerk's still hanging around?" Morgan asked, his temper flaring a moment as he reminded himself, "It's not your business."

A throat clearing had them stopping the conversation, and Amanda said casually, "Hi Morgan."

"Hi Amanda." Morgan said as he reached out and took Cloe, because Cloe was holding her arms out at him. Smiling at the little girl, he asked Amanda, "You're not letting her out there? My mom used to carry me out there, hold me while she skated.. It's not so bad."

"I, umm.. I was waiting until some of the daredevils got off the ice. I don't wanna fall while I'm holding her." Amanda admitted as Morgan looked at Cloe, then at Amanda, smiled a little as he said calmly, "I'll go out there with you two."

"If anyone does, I will, kid." Silas said firmly as Amanda bit her lower lip. She could tell her father was just trying to protect her, but she honestly got annoyed at times when he'd butt in if she saw Morgan somewhere and Morgan tried to be nice.

"Dad, it's fine. We'll just watch." Amanda said quietly as Cloe of course, pouted. Morgan sat down, Cloe turned around to face him while he sat with her in his lap and she held out a soft candy. "Here."

"Aww, thanks." Morgan said as he took the candy and unwrapped it, then held it back out to her after biting off half for himself. "You take half too." he said as the little girl nodded and then pointing to the ice again asked, "Skate?"

"Not yet. Maybe your mom will take you."

Amanda sat quietly, watching Morgan with Cloe. She'd yet to figure out why Cloe seemed to have no trouble going to Morgan, yet if another male who wasn't a member of their little family came along, she'd shy away. Amanda sighed as she told her daughter, "In a little bit, Cloe."

Cloe nodded and chewed on her candy, satisfied with this.

Amanda gave her father a raised brow when his pager for work went off as she said "Seriously, dad? You bought it with you?"

"I kinda have to, kid. I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll take Cloe out there like I used to take you. Maybe we can make it a new family tradition?"

Amanda smiled and hugging her father said "I'd like that. I know Cloe would love it."

Cloe waved goodbye, and then Amanda turned to Morgan and said quietly, "So, I heard you got into it with your ex."

Morgan shrugged and said "She's pushing me on purpose. She said some stuff, about my talking to you, us being friends, and I kinda exploded. I mean it's not like she's got a right to tell me who I can and can't be friends with, all things considered. It wasn't a big deal."

Amanda nodded and said quietly, "Sorry about the whole thing happening during your wedding reception."

"It was over before then, my dad just sort of gave me the nudge I needed to do what I did. I'd already moved out of the boathouse when that happened."

She looked at him with a concerned look and asked, "This isn't.. It's not because you talked to me when I came to town then, right?"

"Nope. It's because Kiki couldn't stop herself from falling in love with my brother and screwing around on me. I lived with that crap when I was a kid. Not gonna marry someone like my parents were." Morgan said calmly as he stood, held his hand out and said "Come on.. I'm not gonna let either of you fall."

Amanda studied him warily and sighing said "Fine. But I warn you, I suck at skating. And I have no skates."

Morgan chuckled and pointed out, "We don't really need them. Just go out in your sneakers, that's what I'm doing." before grabbing her hand, jogging with the two of them to the ice, Cloe giggling from his arms again.

Maybe they could become friends. Being around her, when they weren't butting heads and arguing like they did often seemed to help him feel a lot better.


	6. giving him a chance - prelude

"Go on, get out of here. I can handle Cloe for a few hours." Silas insisted as Amanda looked at him, her hand in her hair for a few moments. She shook her head and then he said calmly, "You can't be a good mother if you don't take a few hours for yourself here and there. It's not like anyone's going to judge you, and if they do, princess.. You just come find dad, okay?" before giving her a gentle shove towards the door.

She nodded and asked, "Are you totally sure? I mean it's just gonna be me and Lulu, some of the other girls." as Cloe looked up and said "Go Mama." with Silas chuckling and saying, "Well.. You heard your daughter. As far as me and little bit go, I think we're gonna hang around here and watch Despicable Me 2." as Cloe clapped and cheered and then asked, "With ice creams?"

"Maybe not too much ice cream, dad." Amanda begged as he handed her her coat and then said with a laugh, "Out." one more time. With the door shut behind her, Amanda stood in the hallway, unsure what to do for a moment. She never had nights without Cloe. She wasn't used to it. Walking to the elevator, she stopped and stared at her father's closed apartment door for a moment, then shook her head and pushed the down button on the elevator, at the same time as Diego Alcazar happened to show up waiting on an elevator also.

She groaned internally as she gave him a friendly and quiet nod. He smiled and then asked, "Where are you off to?"

"Out with Maxie and Lulu. They got my father to talk me into it.. Claim I need a break from Cloe. I don't but hey, they won't stop until I'm out with them for at least one girls night." Amanda said as she twisted her hair around her fingertips, looked at him a moment.

He chuckled and said with a raised brow, "Not used to getting out much, huh?"

"Not at all, actually. I mean I'm not a nun, but I never was a big partier, even before Cloe came along." Amanda admitted as he looked at her and smiled, leaned in as he said "Let me get you something to eat?"

She shook her head and managed to say quietly, "I'm actually meeting Maxie and Lulu down at the bar, Maxie said that Mack serves the best ribs in town." while backing up just a little. Diego always did this, he always came on too damn strong and it scared her.

It was like Cloe's 'sperm donor' all over again, really.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped on. Diego watched her and she stared at the floor, grateful when the door slid open again and Morgan rushed on, arguing with someone on his cell phone, stopping when he saw Amanda standing there, hanging up his phone.

Giving Diego a dirty look, he smiled as he asked, "Did Lulu and Maxie finally get you to go out with them?" smiling again when she nodded and said "Molly helped, actually.. Said we all needed a break from the craziness that's been going on lately."

"Yeah, we do.. I'm surprised though, I mean every time I ask you say no." Morgan pouted jokingly as Amanda shrugged and said quietly, "Morgan, I can't just go out every single night. Besides.. I'm only doing this because Dad said I'm hogging Cloe and he and Rafe are sick of not getting any time with her." while looking up at him. She bit her lip as their arms brushed and she realized they happened to be migrating closer to each other.

Diego cleared his throat and said aloud, "Already tried, Corinthos." in a bored tone, his brown eyes shooting daggers at Morgan. Amanda grumbled to herself as she looked from guy to guy. She knew they were both sort of into her, and she knew she felt something for Morgan.. What that was she didn't know, but she knew she felt something.

Maybe that's why she said casually, "Actually, Morgan, I heard you're the darts champ at The Rib or something? Totally betting I can kick your ass." to which Morgan replied with a smirk, "Sure.. And pigs fly, Amanda. But hey, I'll take your challenge.. Stakes?"

"Name it."

"One date. You have to go on one date with me." Morgan said as Amanda sighed and said casually, "Okay, alright. One date. If I win... You have to... Hmm.. I'll think about it and tell you what I come up with." while smirking at him a little. Morgan smiled to himself. So his theory about Diego scaring the hell out of her when he came on strong like he did was proven correct.

She practically flew off the elevator and out into the parking garage, into Lulu's car. Morgan turned to Diego and said calmly, "I'm gonna tell you this one time, Alcazar.. You only want to get in her pants.. I happen to care about her and if you do anything that hurts her, man, I swear to God, you're gonna wish Sam had shot you the last time she had a gun in her hands."

"Riighht.. Because you and your dad do all of your dirty work." Diego said calmly as he smirked and said "You're on, Corinthos. The best man wins. Should I send you a wedding invite?"

"Riighht, because you got so far with her coming on like you were in the elevator you fucking dickhead." Morgan said as Michael stepped between the two of them and said "Diego? If I were you, I'd get the hell out of Morgan's face.. Last time he got a hold of you, it took me and Milo to get him off.. Do you really want your ass kicked again tonight?" as he looked at his brother and said casually, "He was being a dick about Amanda again.. "

"Exactly.. And that guy is not going to get her. No way in hell is he going to screw this up for me. Not when I happen to know that he only wants to fuck her and I happen to have fallen for her." Morgan muttered as Michael nodded and said quietly, "Trust me.. You're way better for her than Diego."

"I know that. Don't need you telling me." Morgan said stiffly as he added, "Oh yeah.. And the same goes for you.. She's off limits to you too. I mean you have Kiki."

"And I'm happy with her.. I just want us to be okay again." Michael said as Morgan nodded and shrugging said "Maybe one day.. I just.. I can't forgive it right now, Mike." as he walked out into the night and down the sidewalk towards the direction of the Floating Rib.

Amanda gaped at Lulu and Maxie as they shoved a shot in front of her and Eva asked "Need help with that? That's a shot, Amanda.. And what you wanna do is slam it."

"I know, Eva.. Haha." Amanda said as Eva laughed and slammed back her own shot, wiping her mouth off as she said "And here comes Satan himself." while rolling her eyes at the door, Diego walking through it. Maxie and Lulu looked at one another and Georgie leaned in and whispered, "He cannot be serious.. Does he not get that none of us trust him as far as we can throw him? I mean he did all that stuff to us."

"Whoa, what stuff?" Amanda asked, her caution going on high alert as Maxie and Lulu filled her in on most of it and then Georgie explained, "I loved him.. And he took it, used it against me.. He almost cost me Spinelli." while sipping her own virgin drink.

Amanda gaped at him while his back was turned and said quietly, "I fuckin knew something was off with that guy." while sipping her own shot. The door opened again and Morgan walked in, slid onto the stool beside her. Lulu leaned in and whispered "And there it goes again."

"Huh?"

"Your entire face lights up around him, Amanda." Maxie informed her as she added, "He's a sweet guy. He's a really, really sweet guy. Go for it."

"But my dad.."

"Your dad loves you, but that doesn't mean he knows everything that's best for you.. This is pretty much your decision to make." Maxie said as Coop walked in and up behind her, hugging her from behind. "If I hadn't listened to my heart, I'd never have gotten this guy." she added as she turned on her stool and kissed Coop, smiled. "That better not be alcoholic, Maxie."

"It's not, Cooper." Maxie said as she sighed and asked, "How was your day?"

"Fucking boring. When the crime stops here, it really stops." Coop said as he added "Not that I'm complainin, hell." while looking over at Morgan and mouthing, "If you don't do somethin, bud, Alcazar's gonna get to her." and nodding at Amanda. Morgan nodded and then tapped Amanda's shoulder, pulled her up off her stool and said with a chuckle, "So.. Still up for that game of darts?"

"Totally.. I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Right.. We'll see about that.. Personally, I hope you're not as good as you claim.. I want you to go on just one date with me.. Maybe then you'll finally get that I'm not this bad guy." Morgan muttered as Amanda looked up at him and leaned up, whispered in his ear, "I'll go on a date with you.. Just one.. I don't wanna rush into anything, and my dad's a baby about me dating anyone.."

Morgan smiled a little then said "You won't regret it." as he watched her throwing the dart at the board. He laughed and stood behind her, showed her how to position the dart. Amanda leaned on him a little heavier than normal, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was her feeling better because she'd finally caved and said she'd give him a chance.. Either way, she found herself thinking that she was glad she caved in and let her father talk her into coming out tonight.


End file.
